Ford Fancies Fanatics With Two Special Mustangs

2006 Ford Mustang Shelby GT-HCommemorating the 40th anniversary of the GT350H Mustangs, Ford Motor Company, Shelby Automobiles and The Hertz Corporation are partnering to produce a run of 500 modified Ford Mustang GTs.

Unveiled at the 2006 New York Auto Show on April 12th, the Shelby GT-H will be available for rent later this spring exclusively through the Hertz Fun Collection at select airport locations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

Some 40 years ago, Carroll Shelby and The Hertz Corporation put high-performance, special-edition Shelby Mustangs into the hands of rental customers.

The 2006 Ford Shelby GT-H features Black exterior paint set off with Gold racing stripes, a hallmark of Hertz's vehicle history dating all the way back to the 1920s. Each car will also wear a Hertz Edition emblem on the front fenders, Hertz Shelby GT-H sill plates and a numbered dash badge with Carroll Shelby's signature inside the cockpit.

A custom Shelby Performance hood with pins and brushed aluminum grille join a unique front fascia with integrated lower grille, as well as body side scoops and painted brake calipers.

More than just a stripe job, however, Ford Racing Performance Parts is supplying its Power Pack (FR1) to add a 25-horsepower and 10 lb-ft of torque, and its Handling Pack (FR3), which includes special-tuned dampers, lowering springs, sway bars and a strut tower brace. If Ford is going to the trouble of certifying this engine package for a production vehicle, you can assume it will make its way into a regular production Mustang edition at some point in the future.

Ford Racing will be working hand-in-hand with engineers and technicians at Shelby Automobile's assembly facility in Las Vegas during the build-out of the GT-H for delivery to Hertz. Visit www.shelbyautos.com for more info on the car, or for Shelby GT-H or other Hertz Fun Collection reservations, visit www.hertz.com. Or call the Hertz toll-free at 1-800-654-3131. Word is the GT-Hs will be auctioned off like regular rental cars once their required service time has been met, and some may find their way to collector car auctions as well.

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2007 Ford Mustang GT/CSFor the 2007 model year, Ford plans to offer this Mustang GT California Special, the first of what they say will be a series of planned Mustang V-8 "Feature Cars".

The new GT/CS pays homage to the original California Special model produced in 1968 and will arrive in late summer as a full, stand-alone option package on the 2007 Mustang.

The 2007 California Special can be ordered in coupe and convertible body styles, and features a unique front fascia with an integrated chin spoiler, body side racing stripes and a unique rear fascia styled with less "tuck-in" and a lower air-diffuser design similar to the 2007 Shelby GT500.

The GT/CS will come with a dual exhaust system with rolled tips, and it will roll on the Mustang GT's optional 18-inch polished aluminum wheels.

Exclusive touches to the interior include aluminum-finished items in the Interior Upgrade Package (which is required to order a Mustang GT/CS), and the cabin comes dressed in either Dove or Parchment environments, including black leather seats with unique Cal Special Dove or Parchment "GT Leather" inserts. Under the hood, the Mustang GT's 4.6-liter V-8 gets a unique engine cover.

The 2007 Mustang GT/CS option package adds $1,895 to the price of a Mustang GT (available with either a five-speed manual or automatic transmission) with the requisite Premium and Interior Upgrade packages.

Exterior color choices are limited to Redfire Metallic, Performance White, Vista Blue Metallic and Black, with Valencia Yellow to be added later in the model run. Production estimates have not been finalized.